Recipes

Thai Chicken and Rice

Khao Man Gai

Poached chicken with chicken-fat rice, daikon soup, and a pungent ginger-chili sauce

Prep

15 min

Cook

60 min

Serves

4

Heat

mild

Khao Man Gai looks deceptively plain on the plate — cold poached chicken, rice, a bowl of clear soup — but the dish lives entirely in its details. Rendered fat skimmed from the poaching liquid gets cooked directly into the rice, along with garlic and coriander root, so even the rice carries chicken flavor. An ice bath the moment the chicken finishes poaching locks in juiciness and firm texture, and a pungent, garlicky ginger-chili sauce served on the side is really what elevates the whole plate from simple to memorable, cutting through the richness of the chicken and rice with sharp, funky depth from fermented soybean paste.

Ingredients

• 1 Whole chicken (about 4 lb)
• 1 tablespoon Salt (for the poaching water)
• 3-4 inch piece Ginger (cleaned, cut into pieces)
• 6 Garlic, large cloves (peeled)
• 6-8 Thai hot chilies (stems removed)
• 1/2 cup Distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 cup Dark sweet soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Light soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup Yellow soybean paste
• 2 cups Jasmine rice (uncooked)
• 2 Garlic cloves (slightly crushed)
• 2 Coriander root (bruised)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Daikon radish, large (peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces)
• 2 Coriander root (bruised)
• 1/4 teaspoon White pepper, finely ground
• 2-4 sprigs Coriander/cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Place the whole chicken in a large pot with enough water for it to float freely. Add the salt and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Reduce to a slow simmer, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes, checking after 30 to avoid overcooking — the meat should stay firm, not falling off the bone. Pierce the thick part of a leg; if it runs clear, it's done.
3. While the chicken cooks, grind the ginger, garlic, and chili together into a smooth paste with a mortar and pestle.
4. Combine the paste with the vinegar, both soy sauces, soybean paste, and coconut sugar in a small pan. Bring to a hard boil, then reduce heat and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly, until thick. Let cool.
5. Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pot and plunge it into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and keep the meat firm and juicy.
6. Once fully cold, remove the breast meat from the bone and slice into thick pieces.
7. Skim the fat from the chicken poaching liquid and combine with enough water to match your rice package's liquid ratio for 2 cups of dry rice.
8. Add the crushed garlic, bruised coriander root, and salt to the rice pot along with the fatty liquid, then cook the rice as usual.
9. Cut the daikon into 2-inch pieces. Add to a pot with enough chicken stock to float the pieces, along with the white pepper and bruised coriander root. Bring to a hard boil.
10. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, checking the daikon after 5 or 6 minutes — it should be just barely tender with a fork, not falling apart.
11. Serve the cold sliced chicken alongside a portion of the hot chicken-fat rice on each plate, with a small bowl of the daikon soup and a dish of the sauce. Add raw cucumber, cabbage, or green beans on the side, and garnish with cilantro.

Notes

Shock the chicken in ice water the moment it's done poaching — that abrupt stop in cooking is what keeps the meat firm and juicy rather than soft and stringy.

Substitutions

Chinese winter gourd or chayote can replace daikon in the accompanying soup if daikon isn't available.